The book talks about a small boy Dhiman, based in Kolkata around the time when refugees escaping from East Pakistan / Bangladesh were entering India to save their lives. His father, a journalist, has gone to the Ground Zero to report the events while his mother is battling for life.
Darkness at Star Mills looks at the 1982 textile mill strike at Mumbai, one of the largest industrial strikes in the world.
The protagonist is a boy named Vinod, a resident of the chawl, who is struggling with changing friendships too, and out of envy and boredom stumbles upon an ugly mystery that is set to change not just his world, but the city around him.
The story focuses on people, places and things that shaped the 1857 uprising. Some of the key people include Nana Sahib, Jhansi Laxmi Bai and Mangal Pandey among others. Some of the important places include Lucknow, Cawnpore (now Kanpur) and Delhi.
The year is 1978. Jenny from Palakkad becomes pen pals with Teesta in Bombay. The girls brainstorm ways to contribute to the conservation of key ecosystems.
Pallavi, a twelve year old girl from Mamallapuram of the Pallava empire, is one of the few privileged ones who gets to attend the classes held at the royal library since her father works in the king’s court. However, things take a different turn when her father loses his job due to alcoholism and is sent away by the king to a Buddhist monastery for penance.
Princess Kundavai is the daughter of a mighty Chola king who grows up along the banks of the holy river Kaveri. As she learns to swim in the river, she also learns to navigate the choppy waters of the power games between the feuding kings.
